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ENHANCING COMMUNITY SPIRIT: SKY BET EFL BUILDING FOUNDATIONS FUND PROVIDES FIRST LOOK AT SOUTHLANDS HUB IN MIDDLESBROUGH
Sky Bet and the Sky Bet EFL Building Foundations Fund proudly marked a significant milestone with the first visit to the construction site of the Southlands Community and Sports Hub in Park End, Middlesbrough.
The event, held on Wednesday, welcomed media representatives and key stakeholders to witness the early progress of a transformative development for East Middlesbrough.
The Southlands Hub, currently being built on the site of the former Southlands Centre on Ormesby Road, is a flagship initiative led by Middlesbrough Council in partnership with the Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation. The project received a £100,000 grant from the Sky Bet EFL Building Foundations Fund, alongside support from the UK government.
From left to right: Vicky Allday (Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation volunteer), Charlotte Dinsdale (Head of Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation), George Elek (co-host of NTT20 podcast), Chris Kamara, Chris Cooke (Middlesbrough Elected Mayor), Ali Maxwell (co-host of NTT20 podcast), Andy McDonald (MP for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
The Building Foundations Fund was established by Sky Bet and the EFL to support grassroots initiatives that strengthen local communities through sport, education, and social engagement. The Southlands Hub exemplifies this mission, aiming to provide top-class facilities for grassroots football, youth programmes, mentoring, and employability training.
Among those in attendance were former professional footballer and broadcaster Chris Kamara, who grew up in the area and played much of his early football in Park End; Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke; and Charlotte Dinsdale, Head of the Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation. Their presence underscored the importance of the project and its potential to uplift the local community.
Stage one of the development includes the construction of the hub building, featuring community meeting rooms, a social area, upgraded 3G and grass pitches, and new open spaces for sport and recreation. Stage two is expected to bring further enhancements to the site. The site is scheduled to open in early summer 2026.
Kieran Forde, Head of Sponsorship and brand at Sky Bet said: “We’re incredibly proud to support the Southlands Community and Sports Hub through the Building Foundations Fund. This project reflects everything the fund stands for – empowering communities, creating opportunities, and using sport as a force for good. This visit shows just how impactful this development will be for Middlesbrough.”
Ex-footballer and broadcaster Chris Kamara commented: “Growing up in Park End, I know first-hand how much this community loves its sport and deserves top-class facilities. Seeing the Southlands Hub take shape is emotional and exciting – it’s going to be a game-changer for people here.”
Charlotte Dinsdale, Head of Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation, added: “The Southlands Hub is more than just bricks and mortar – it’s a commitment to the future of East Middlesbrough. It will be a place where young people can learn, grow, and thrive. We’re thrilled to be part of a partnership that’s delivering real change for the community.”
Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke said: “It’s fantastic to see the progress being made on site and it was great to welcome Chris Kamara back to an area he knows so well. This will be a brilliant venue for our town and we’re excited to partner with MFC Foundation to help create the facilities and opportunities that local people deserve.”
The post ENHANCING COMMUNITY SPIRIT: SKY BET EFL BUILDING FOUNDATIONS FUND PROVIDES FIRST LOOK AT SOUTHLANDS HUB IN MIDDLESBROUGH appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Eight creators compete across five timed stages with eliminations, broadcast on Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
Red Bull will stage a one-day Balatro speedrun competition, Red Bull Boss Rush, on April 17, 2026. The event brings together eight creators for timed runs in the roguelike deckbuilder, with viewers able to follow via individual creator POV streams and a central hub broadcast.
The competitor lineup includes Red Bull Player Ludwig, plus The Spiffing Brit, FrostPrime, Feinberg, Adef, Yahiamice, mbtyugioh and dreads. Red Bull said live commentary will be provided by esports host Yinsu ‘Yinsu’ Collins, card-game specialist Blake ‘Rarran’ Eram, and DrSpectered.
Boss Rush is structured as five 30-minute stages, with players ranked by completion time. Red Bull said the opening three stages use a shared random seed with unlimited resets, and points are awarded by placement each stage; the bottom four are eliminated after stage 3. Stage 4 determines the finalists, followed by a final winner-takes-all matchup.
The event also includes a downloadable Red Bull Boss Rush mod featuring a custom-branded deck and new Red Bull-themed Jokers, Bosses and Skip Tags. Red Bull highlighted additions including ‘Witch’, ‘Princess and Frog’, ‘Zebra’, Old Dog, ‘Pirate’, ‘Genie’, ‘Prince Charming’, and ‘Jester’, each designed to alter scoring or run economics.
Red Bull Boss Rush will stream on twitch.tv/redbull and Red Bull’s YouTube Gaming channel. Scan is supplying gaming PCs for the competition, according to the company.
Relevant data as follows:
- Red Bull Gaming on Twitch; https://www.twitch.tv/redbull Primary broadcast destination for the event.
- Red Bull Gaming on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/redbullgaming Secondary broadcast destination cited in the release.
- Red Bull Gaming: https://www.redbull.com/ Official Red Bull site for event context and confirmation.
- Balatro on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/ Authoritative reference for the game featured in the competition.
- Scan Computers: https://www.scan.co.uk/ PC supplier mentioned as providing systems for the event.
The post Red Bull runs one-day Balatro speedrun event, Boss Rush, on April 17 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Brazil stands out for crash-game visibility, while Argentina fragments across 15 providers, according to Blask’s review of five markets.
Blask has published new data on casino lobby distribution across five Latin American markets—Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru—finding a shared baseline of Pragmatic Play dominance but sharply different secondary content patterns by country.
Across all five markets, Pragmatic Play “consistently dominates the top 30 most-distributed titles,” accounting for up to 16 positions in each country, Blask said. Beyond that layer, Blask argues there is “no single playbook” for how operators and aggregators build lobbies.
Brazil is the clearest outlier for mechanics, with crash-style titles such as Aviator and JetX appearing in the top 30, while similar formats are “largely absent” in the other markets analyzed. Blask also points to Brazil as the only country where Pocket Games Soft holds a meaningful distribution share, driven by its Fortune series.
Mexico shows the opposite pattern: the highest concentration of Pragmatic Play titles and a thinner secondary layer. Blask flagged Endorphina as an example of a provider appearing in Mexico’s top 30 but not elsewhere in its dataset.
Argentina is described as the most fragmented market, with 15 different providers represented in the top 30—more than any other country in the analysis—and broader visibility for live and table content. Chile “closely mirrors Mexico” structurally, Blask said, but includes a single non-Pragmatic title with near-ubiquitous placement across operator lobbies. Peru, meanwhile, spreads remaining top-30 positions across 12 providers, including studios not seen in the other markets and “legacy European brands such as Novomatic.”
Blask’s conclusion is that operators should not assume a winning lobby mix in one country will translate regionally. “Beyond the dominant layer, performance is defined not by regional trends, but by local player behavior and demand signals,” the company said.
The post Blask data shows LATAM casino lobbies diverge beyond Pragmatic Play’s baseline appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Casino lobbies across Latin America may look similar at first glance — but a deeper look reveals they operate on entirely different logic. According to new data from Blask, all five major region players (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru) share one common layer: Pragmatic Play consistently dominates the top 30 most-distributed titles, accounting for up to 16 positions in each market. But everything beyond that baseline tells a different story.
Crash games cluster in Brazil but not elsewhere
Brazil is the only market where crash-style mechanics achieve consistent visibility at the lobby level. Titles like Aviator and JetX both rank among the top 30, while similar formats are largely absent in the other four markets. At the same time, Brazil is the only country where a second provider, Pocket Games Soft, secures a meaningful share of distribution, driven entirely by its Fortune series. This dual pattern suggests a highly specific local demand profile rather than a regional trend.
Mexico runs on a tighter playbook
While Brazil expands, Mexico narrows. The market shows the highest concentration of Pragmatic Play titles and one of the most limited secondary layers. At the same time, it introduces isolated signals that don’t scale regionally such as the presence of Endorphina, which appears in the Mexican top 30 but nowhere else in the dataset.
Argentina breaks the pattern entirely
Argentina stands apart as the most fragmented market in the region. Its top 30 includes 15 different providers which is more than any other country analyzed. Unlike neighboring markets, where a handful of suppliers dominate, Argentina distributes visibility across a wide range of studios, particularly in live and table segments. The result is a lobby structure that resists standardization.
Chile shows how a single game can outperform the system
Chile closely mirrors Mexico in overall structure but with one key exception. A single non-Pragmatic title achieves near-ubiquitous placement across operator lobbies, becoming one of the strongest outliers in the entire dataset.This suggests that even in highly concentrated markets, individual titles can break through if they match local demand precisely.
Peru stretches the long tail further than anyone else
Peru takes the opposite approach to Mexico. While maintaining the same Pragmatic baseline, it distributes the remaining positions across 12 different providers, many of which do not appear in any other LATAM market analyzed. This includes both niche studios and legacy European brands such as Novomatic, pointing to a mix of underserved demand segments and alternative content sourcing strategies.
One region, no single playbook
The key takeaway from the analysis is simple: LATAM is not a unified market when it comes to content distribution. The same providers appear everywhere but the way their games are positioned, combined, and supplemented varies dramatically from country to country. For operators, this means that copying a successful lobby structure from one market to another is unlikely to work. Beyond the dominant layer, performance is defined not by regional trends, but by local player behavior and demand signals.
The post Same providers, different games: Blask uncovers hidden patterns in LATAM casino lobbies appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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